Who holds capital and political leverage — and how that power is exercised.
Kenya's economy is 57% bigger than Tanzania's, but Tanzania has 24% more people and 63% more land. Across nine scored measures, Kenya edges it 5-4. Ranked on IMF, UN and Global Firepower 2026 figures.
Burundi's president earns 2,433 times the monthly minimum wage, more than the other nine leaders in this top 10 combined. We compared presidential pay with the lowest legal wage in 33 African countries.
Sudan leads Africa with 14 coup attempts since 1960, Burkina Faso turned 9 of its 10 into takeovers, and 7 of the top 10 are West African. Full ranking, Powell and Thyne data to August 2026.
Ethiopia fields Africa's largest army with 503,000 active soldiers, ahead of Egypt's 438,500. The top 10 total 2.81 million troops, while South Africa misses the list entirely.
Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang has ruled for 47 years. The top two African presidents have held power for 91 years combined, twice as long as ranks 8 to 10 put together. Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania do not make the top 10.
Seychelles leads Africa with access to 155 destinations in the Henley Passport Index, October 2026. South Africa is the only mainland passport above 100. Nigeria sits far outside the top 10.
Chart of the Day: Algeria spent $25.4bn on its military in 2025, more than all of Sub-Saharan Africa combined at $23.3bn. One country now outspends a whole region on defence, on SIPRI's latest figures.
Egypt leads Africa in the Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index 2026 with a score of 44.8, just ahead of South Africa at 44.2, while only three African countries make the global top 50.
Africa's youngest billionaire is 51 years old. The ten youngest people on Forbes' 2026 Africa rich list have an average age of 64, and together they hold $63.5 billion. Here is who they are, and why Africa's billionaire class keeps getting older.
Algeria spends $25.4 billion on its military, more than the next nine African countries combined. Morocco, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria complete the top five in this 2026 edition, ranked on the latest SIPRI defense data.
Seychelles tops Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index with 68 out of 100. Only four African countries score above 50, and island nations dominate the top ten.
South Africa leads Africa with seven billionaires, followed by Egypt with five and Nigeria with four, according to Forbes' 2026 ranking of the continent's 23 dollar billionaires. Here is the full country-by-country breakdown.
Folorunso Alakija is Africa's richest woman with an estimated $900 million fortune — but no woman on the continent is a billionaire. All 10 ranked by estimated net worth.
Egypt is Africa's most powerful country in 2026 — Africa's strongest military and a $400 billion economy put it ahead of South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria.
Manu Chandaria and Mama Ngina Kenyatta are Kenya's wealthiest people in 2026, each estimated at about $1 billion — though no Kenyan appears on Forbes Africa's 2026 billionaires list.
Johann Rupert is South Africa's richest person for another year at $16.1 billion on Forbes' 2026 list, ahead of Nicky Oppenheimer ($10.6 billion) and Patrice Motsepe ($4.3 billion).
